Our good friend Adrian (whom we met Charlotte - but who is Argentinean) was in Little Rock, Arkansas competing in the Sangham Tae Kwon Do World Championships, last week. He won first place in forms, and combat weapons, and second in sparring. He traveled to Little Rock from Argentina to compete. We are super, super proud of him. The story of how we met is far too long for a blog (but it is one of my favorite - so I'll tell you next time I see you), but suffice it to say that our family has become very close to him (as well as his cousin)...So, when we found out that he was coming to the World Championships, we decided to get him from Little Rock to Charlotte (NC), then to Asheville - to surprise the kids, who are spending most of the summer hanging out at a camp called Lutheridge, (one of the best places in the world!!) while my husband volunteers to help feed campers in the dining hall. When we sent Adrian home to Argentina in December, we did not know when we would see him again. It was very hard for the kids, and for us.
So...HOORAY!!! He is here! When the kids saw him, they squealed and screamed and ran right passed me to him and he swept them up in his arms and twirled and laughed.
And now, they are busy showing him off and making crafts! And he is experiencing "camp life" for the very first time. And all he can say is "This is amazing...This is amazing!"
"What's amazing Adrian?"
"This place...These people...They smile and wave and look at me and talk to me. They do not know me at all. They have never seen me. I don't even speak the same language they do."
Now, you have to imagine that all of this is said in the most lovely, hesitant, yet almost perfect English - accompanied by a lot of "ums," "how do you say?"s.
"What do you mean, 'they look at' you?"
"They look at me. They see me. They pay attention. Most people do not do this. Most people just walk by one another. Do you know?"
"Yes Adrian, I know."
This past Sunday's gospel lesson was the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). A story that, in large part, is about looking and seeing...taking time to get near enough to the other to begin to know them. The word "neighbor" as in the lawyer's question in verse 29: "Who is my neighbor?" means "to be near to." Neighbors are those who risk enough to get a little closer, to pay attention, to see the other.
That's what Adrian is experiencing in this place, for these couple days - he is experiencing a neighborhood.
My friend Mary is one of the Program Directors here at Lutheridge (along with her husband Tim). Every summer it happens that there is a week or two that are especially busy, and she will put out the call for "cavalry" (help from former counselors who have entered the full-time work force, and can't give the entire summer, but who can give a week or so for "cavalry" work). Usually before they come, they post something on Facebook about how excited they are to be coming here. This past week one cavalry person posted on Facebook something like, "I can't wait to leave the real world behind for a week, and escape to camp." To which Mary replied, "You have that wrong...this IS the real world."
Here's the thing, sisters and brothers...The world God intends is a neighborhood where all draw near to one another and pay attention and smile and talk and care (and perhaps even spend some time making crafts together!).
Sent from my iPad
No comments:
Post a Comment